Japanese guy earns S$99 an hour to just hang around with customers.
Most Singaporeans in the working world are about halfway through yet another grueling week of making ends meet.
Some people like all the activities, while others would prefer to do nothing at all.
A Japanese guy, charging as much as S$99 an hour to just follow his customers, seems to have discovered a way to do just that while making a respectable livelihood.
Despite the widespread belief that he is a "do nothing" worker, closer inspection reveals that he operates more like an escort service, charging customers to have him follow them in a variety of social situations.
The Japanese guy charges S$99 per hour for his time with customers.
Reuters reports that Shoji Morimoto receives compensation for doing nothing.
A more accurate description may be "personal companion," as his services cost 10,000 yen (about S$99) each hour.
Such "companionship" may take various forms, such as playing see-saw with someone at the park, waving someone off at the railway station if they want a send-off, or even just going out in public with someone who wishes to wear a sari.
Source: @morimotoshoji on Twitter
At this photo, Mr. Morimoto is chilling in a Tokyo museum as his customer takes in the displays.
Source: @morimotoshoji on Twitter
The 38-year-old Tokyo man has acquired more than 250,000 Twitter followers, where he finds most of his employment opportunities.
And according to Reuters, he has a client who has hired him more than 270 times.
Mr. Morimoto used to regularly accompany three to four customers a day before the outbreak. Recently, he'd only taken care of one or two every day.
He can pick and choose his customers with ease, despite the fact that he is always in demand.
Mr. Morimoto has previously refused demands of a sexual nature, helping to carry a refrigerator and relocation to Cambodia.
Mr. Morimoto "essentially leases himself out" to customers who want him to be wherever he wants to be, to "do nothing in particular," as he puts it when asked to define what he does for a living.
Source: @morimotoshoji on Twitter
In the last four years, he has attended 4,000 sessions.
There are several reasons why customers employ the Japanese guy.
An 8-minute BBC Reel film elaborates on the unusual profession and presents the customers' points of view.
One of them, who had just established a café, had been struggling to make ends meet.
To cheer themselves up, they agreed to pay Mr. Morimoto to dine at the shop.
Another customer had him accompany an international visitor to Tokyo who was cake shopping for the first time.
Mr. Morimoto was also engaged by a customer who wanted him to celebrate her birthday with her on Enoshima Island.
Her sun-sensitive skin issue prevented her from asking her pals out on a date.
Despite the appearance that it is trying to sidestep the problem at hand, the BBC reports that this is a regular practice in Japan.
It's not as simple as it seems.
Mr. Morimoto's existence, in which he gets paid to do nothing, may seem like a dream to some people.
Nonetheless, if his customers want to talk about their issues, he must listen to them and deal with their emotions.
Although he seemed to have sorted everything out, we imagine that working in this field isn't without its share of difficulties.
However, Mr. Morimoto deserves credit for being able to make a livelihood from an unusual career while also providing much-needed company to those in need.
The featured picture was generated from a tweet by @morimotoshoji.
